Method and apparatus for making weftless fabrics



May 6, 1930. A. E. J RY 1,757,636

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKTNG WEFTLESS FABRICS Filed Dec. 15 1922 5Sheets-Sheet 1 I I auveutoz ALFRED E. JURY M4 elf tom;

May 6, 1930. A. .E. JURY 5 1,757,636

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WEFTLESS FABRICS Filed Dec. 15, 1922 v 5Sheets-Sheet 2 avwemtoi ALFRED E. Jl/RK May 6, 1930. A. E. JURY METHODAND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WEFTLESS FABRICS Filed Dec. 15, 1922 :5Sheets-Sheet s auomtoz A LFRED E. Jun Y Patented May 6, 1930 UNITEDs'ra'resg "PATENT o -F es- I ALFRED a. 'Ju'mz, or gunman, NEW amar,assreitoa romoaean a ware or DETROIT, urcnreang'a coaroaa'rron or mcnrean;

im'rnon Aim arraaaj'rus roa MAKING wn'rrnnss Ne Application filedDecember 15, 1922. Serial no. 697,021: ;l

This invention relates to an a paratus for I manufacturing weftlessfabric, 1. e a sheet of cords, or other warphke elements, bound to aexible substance as rubber or rubber composition,'rather than bytransversely extendished and connected to other masses being drawn onwithout necessarily halting the operation of the machine. Stillfurther,' it aims to provide a combination and arrangement of partsdesigned to initially dry or preliminarily set the warplike elements, orcords, in contiguous parallel relation, and while more nearly flat thanin the previous machine.

With the illustrated embodiment in mind and without intention to limitmore than is required by the prior art, the invention; may be brieflydescribed as comprising replenishable massesfof cord constitutingsources of supply, the cords from'which are conducted through a bath oflatex and thence onto a liable carrier which, with the coated sheetormation of cords thereon, is conducted-over a slightly arched smoothinand drying device, and around a series drying cans, the carrier beinginterposed between the treated sheet of cords and the heated metallicsurfaces. Means are provided for conducting the pliable carrier beneaththe sheet of cords immediately after they are treated and for coiling uthe weftless fabric as fast'as' it is finishe ,the carrier'strip beinginterposed between convolutions on thewindup reel andserving to functionalso as a liner, if desired. A preferred embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings in w i hh gther by filmsorintervening webs of such Fig. 1 is a diagrammaticelevation, partly insection, of the preferred foi'ifiof the apparatus;

a Fig. 2 isa perspective, of a replenishable .spool or cord-mass holdingrack;

Fig. 3 illustrates a desirable'tilted arrangement of apair ofcord-windingsor spools;

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate*two different and suitable windings of cordsupply;

And Figs.6, 7 and 8 illustrate'in side,'end and plan'views,respectively, and diagrammatically, a commercial form of rack, orciieel', for supporting the masses of cord sup-. p y. 1 1

To provide for the uninterrupted delivery of cords 1 to the fabric'beingmade, the supply masses, or windings, 2 thereof, which are preferably atleast twice as many in number as there are cords in the fabric, aredesirably grouped in pairs (orhigher multiples) 'on racks 3. While, forinstance, one cord is being drawn ofl. from one mass of a pair, a, b,Fig. 2, its endingend a may be tied, spliced, or otherwiseconnected, asindicated at 0, to the beginning end 6' of the other mass 1) of thepair. Consequently, when one'c'ord mass is exhausted, a second mass,which'ha's previous ly been connected thereto, is ready for supplyingthe cord without necessarily halting the operation of the machine, I Andwhile this second mass is bein drawn. on, another cord mass may 'be'taken rom stock and positioned in place of. the first, or exhausted,mass, In this way, one or more operatives attending the machine maymaintain a sourceofsupply for each cord and, if desirable, carefullysplice their be 'nning and ending ends so as to free the pro not fromknots.

It is desirable to draw off the cord from a point, in axial alignmentwith the masses, or windings, 2. Tdaccomplish this from either of a pairof windings, or supplly masses, the lead-off is conducted either t roughtravellers 4 sl'idablejron rods 5,as illustrated in Fig. 2, or througheyes 6 fixed at the intersection of the axes of tilted windings, as i1-lustratedin Fig. 3. In this latter case, if the center of gravity of thetilted masses necessltates, any suitable means, such as the slot andwindings in position. In the former case, the travellers 4 are, ofcourse, shifted automatically by the. tension, or pull, on each cord.

If the masses, or wlndings, 2 are stacked on. dlfl'erent shelves of arack, it is advisable to guard against interference of one cord withanother, at least when shiftable travellers 4 are employed, and to thisend, such means as the-rods 8, flanking each shelf, and spacing bars 9,at the tops of the racks, may be conveniently supported as, forinstance, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The cordmay be wound to form the masses 2 in any suitable manner and on anopenended spool with a conical base, suchas shown prefer, however, inall cases to employ a type of winding that maybe drawn off from a pointabove its axis so that the masses may remain stationary when themachineis in operation. Therefore, various types of winding may be employed,advanta eously, however, possessing free and availa le beginning andending ends that permit operatives to splice, or otherwise unite,adjacent masses or spools.

The racks 3 holding the cord masses, or windings, 2 may, of course, belocated in any convenient relation to the machine and grou ed in anyconvenient manner. They may e located, as illustrated, in tiers belowthe machine, as, for instance, on a balcony 12, with rovision for accessin replenishing and splicing the spools afforded by aisles 13, or theyma be located back of the machine, i. e., to the lbft of Fig. 1,-whenthe apparatus is all to be assembled upon the same floor.

The cords may be conducted through any suitable means and in anyconvenient manner to a treating station. I preferably pass them throughthread uiding and paralleling means, comprising afjustably supportedapertured thread boards 14, presser rolls 15, guide rolls 16, lease rods17, spacing comb 18,

and guide rolls 19, which act to arrange thecords in contiguous relationin sheet formation.

The layer of parallel cords thus formed is then treated with latexhaving the desired rubber content and with or without admixedpreserving, vulcanizing, or compounding ingredients. Application of thelatex may be made in any way desired, but for making weftless fabric, Irefer to pass the cords around parallel guide rolls suitably supportedin a tank 21 maintained filled with latex in any convenient manner.Means are desirably provided for permitting the latex beingwithdrawnfrom out'bf contact with the cords in order to avoidnon-uniform coating if, for any reason, the machine, or apparatus, isstopped. This may be done varlous- 'ly, but most simply by providing anelevator 22 to raise and lower the tank.

. The treated cords in sheet formation are conducted from the tankthrough a comb '23" and between scraper bars 24 for removing a anyexcess of-latex. The comb 23, positioned between the scraper bars 24 andthe tank 21,

insures proper spacing of each cord, or of every two, three, etc.,cords, as conditions may require.

The latex-treated cords have then to be dried to unite them one toanother and thereby to obtain the sought filamentary sheet material, orweftless fabric, in which parallel, and preferably contacting, cords areconnected each to its neighbor by intervening films, or webs, of virginrubber. For drying the latex, I prefer the apparatus illustrated in Fig.1 of the drawings, which comprises a series of rather large drying cans25, 26, 27, 28 and 29, suitably journalled in a frame 30 and eachadapted to be rotated in the directionindicated by the arrows b anysuitable means (not shown) at a suita le peripheral speed. It will benoticed that the dryin cans 25 to 29 rotate in the same direction. bovethis row of drying cans, which are preferem 32 and heating coils 33,arranged in a fiat areh'formation, reaching from one end to the other ofthe row of drying cans. This combined smoothing and drying device is ofless span than length, thus insurlng the maintenance of more or lesstension on material drawn thereover, thereby maintaining it nearly fiatand free from wrinkles. Heat may be sup lied to the cans anddevice 31,in any desire way, most simply, as shown, by suitably connected lines ofvalve-controlled pipes 34 and 35, through which steam at any desiredpressure, for instance, may be passed.

At one side of the apparatus, as shown, a Wind-up reel 36 may be locatedfor removing the dried weftless fabric from the machine as fast as it isfinished. And adjacent the wind-u reel, or wherever, it is convenient, Ipreferalily mount a coil 37 of flexible material, such as liner fabric,which is conducted through the machine so as always to intervene betweenthe latex-treated sheet of cords and the heated metallic surfaces whichconstitute the several drying devices. As clearly illustrated in thedrawings, the material 37, which constitutes a flexible carrier, meetsthe end drying can 29in advance of the latextreated sheet of cords. Theflexible carrier 37 and sheet of cords then move together as a unit overthe combined smoothing and drying arch 31 and for a short distancearound the drying can 29, to the receiving end one, 25, of the series ofdrying cans. About these, the material is conducted, preferably asshown,

- fabric leaving the can 28 are conducted.

by locating idle rolls 38 in pairs and relatively close together at thetops of the drying cans so that substantially all of their largeperipheral surface is utilized to conduct heat through the flexiblecarrier or material 37 to the latex-treated cords, which latter are thuskept out of contact with the heated metallic surfaces and prevented fromgumlhing the same. The idle rolls 38 may be, and desirably are, watercooled. And if desired, an air blast may be directed in one or more ofthe bights of the material as it passes around the idle rolls '38. Bythe time the latex-treated cords have passed over the arch 31 and aroundthe drying can 25, they are sufiiciently dried and set in their properrelative positions to pass around the first of the idle rolls 38 withoutgumming it and without injuring the bond between the rubber and thecords. The flexible carrier and weftless around guide rolls 39 towind-up reel 36. For convenience in the subsequent handling of theweftless fabric, it is desirable to coil a liner strip between theconvolutions thereof which" otherwise are likely to adhere. And for thisreason, I prefer to utilize the flexible carrier 37 also as a liner and,therefore, to coil it up with the weftless fabric in the wind-up reel36.

In Figs. 6 to 8 of the drawings is illustrated a form of rack, or spoolsupport, generally known as a creel, especially valuable and practicalfor use in a factory. Its framework comprises any suitable. number ofvertical columns, or standards, 50, secured and braced in alignment bytie-rods 51. While the tierods may be variously secured to the columns,

I preferably support their ends in; split collars 52, thereby providingfor vertical adjustment of the tie-rod. On the tie-rods are supportedbrackets 53, such consisting of arms 54 with bent ends 55 and a splitcollar 56, this latter permitting leveling, as well as bodily adjustment, of the bracket. The bent end 55 of each arm is adapted' toenter the bore in the cone or core on which the cord is wound, a disk 57being mounted on the end of each bracket to properly support each mass 2of cord.

At intervals on the standards 50, and at right angles to the tie-rods51, are cross-arms 58, provided at their free ends with one or moreguiding apertures 59, each arm having a one more aperture than there arecross-arms below it, and these being suitably located so as to avoidinterference of one cord with another. Suitably supported at the top ofthe framework are a number of threadboards 60 and guide-rolls 61. Theseveral threadboards,

of course, are located in registering alignment lengthwise of theframework, or creel.

Two brackets 53 are preferably located on each tie-rod 51 with theirbent ends inclined in two directions, as apparent from plan view Fig. 8.Thus, the 05rd windings 2 may be grouped in pairs, on each side of theframework or creel, with their axes intersecting approximately in theguiding-aperture 59 in the cross-arm 58 above. Each pair of cordwindings 2is also arranged with its axes inclined outwardly so that theguiding aperture 59 in the cross-arm 58 may be located far enough awayfrom the vertical plane of the framework to clear the space occupied bythe many cord windings 2, in the passage of the'cord from the source ofsupply to its threadboard I 60 above the creel.

The operation of the machine will be obvione from what has already beenstated in the detailed descriptionthereof. Owing largely to thecomparatively great length of the material between the, tank 21 and thefirst idle roll 38, engaged by the treated face. of the cords, whichlength of material is subjected to heat treatment, the apparatus of thepresent invention enables weftless fabric to be produced with greaterspeed than heretofore. The construction and arrangement of the partsrequire but compartively few drying cans and these may be mounted in ahorizontal, rather than a vertical, frame, thereby affording greaterease in construction and access in repair or attendance. Of especialvalue is the feature of the cord supply which permits'of access to anyof them for repleni shment of exhausted'masses and splicing of one spoolbeing drawn on to another spool in reserve. Ver large windings may beemployed with acility. No expensive or com plicated parts are requiredto support the masses, or windings, of cord to permit rotation thereof,as these may be, and preferably are,'statio na-ry when the. cord iswithdrawn axially therefrom.

The specific form of the apparatus disclosed may, of course, be varied.While a horizontal disposition of the drying devices is preferred, it isobvious that they may he stood on end, that is, arranged generallyvertically, and some of the advantages of the invention realized. It isto be understood also that the threads or cords may be of any suitablesize and spaced any desired distance be-v tween their centers. While themachine or apparatus is intended primarily for manufacturingweftlessfabric, i. e., a sheet of generally parallel cords joinedtogether sole-' 1y by webs of rubber,-or rubber composition, it mayvalso be used for treatingso-called 60rd fabric having widely spacedfilling threads, and in fact, any form or arrangment of cords that maybe advantageously treated with latex and dried. In the claims, the termcord is used in a' comprehensive sense and is intended to includethread, or any other form of stfain-resisting-element for reinforcing orstrengthening rubber articles. The features of tying the beginning andending ends of supply masses of cord so that the supply thereof may becontinued uninterruptedly, is not limited to the specific and preferredform of apparatus illustrated. This feature may be used with advantagein sup lying cords to calendersand uniting the cor s together with filmsorskim-coats of rubber. And the invention both in the method andapparatus is to be understood as comprehending such use of the creel'orspoolsupports disclosed. In short, all uses of this feature of theinvention are intended to be comprehended in the claims,

Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended tobe limited to-the.

precise disclosure and col nprehends changes and alterations within theprinciples of the 7 construction disclosed. Therefore, reference shouldbe made to the accompanying claims for an understanding of the scopeofthe invention. r

Having thus described my invention, what I: claim and desire to protectby Letters Patexit is:

1. An less fabric, comprising in combination, means for supplying aplurality of cards, means for ap' ying latex to the cords, meansintermediate the first two mentioned means for guiding and parallelingthe cords, means for continuouslyremoving the treated cords from saidapplying means and drying them to form a sheet including aseries ofheated metallic surfaces together formin an arch over which the cordsare drawn un er tension and a pliable fabric carrier interposed betweensaid series of'heated metallic surfaces and the treated cords.

2. An apparatus for manufacturing weftless fabric, including incombination, drying cans, a series of which are rotatable in the samedirection, a tank for a rubber-containing liquid, means for guiding thecords to the tank and assing them therethrough in conrubber-containingliquid'to' the cords, means for iding and arranging the cords parallelin s eet formation, means for drying the treated sheet of cords includina flexible carrier for directly engaging the s eet of treated cords,aseries of drying cans, and preliminary dryin and smoothing means in theform of a fixe arch intermediate one of saidcans and the remainder ofthe series thereof over which the cords are. drawn under tension toinitially set the treated cords in sheet formation and whilesubstantially flat.

4. An apparatus for manufacturing. weftapparatus for manufacturingweftless fabric, including in combination, means for guiding cords andasemblin them parallel in sheetformation, means or a plying latex to thecords, a flexible carrier or conducting the cords from said appl gmeans, meansfor drying the latex on t e cords on said carrier tomaintain them in sheet formation, said last named means includin aseries of heated metallic devices arrange in arch formation andcontacting only with the flex- I ible carrier, and means for removingthe carrier and weftless fabric dried thereon from the machine.

5. An ap aratus for manufacturing weftless fabric, including incombination, drying cans, a series'of which are rotatable in the samedirection, a tank for a rubber contaning liquid, means for iding thecords to the tanks and passing ti dm therethrough in contiguousrelation, means for carrying treated cords from the tank around saidseries of drying cans, an'da drying device adjacent said carrying meansincluding a substantially fixed arch, the fabric being drawn un- .dertension over the convex face of said arch by said carrying means.

6. An apparatus'for. manufacturing weft less fabric, including-incombination, drying cans, a series of which are rotatable in the samedirection, a tank for a rubber contaning liquid, means for iding thecords to the tanks and passing t em therethroughin con- Q tiguousrelation, means for carrying treated cords from the tank around saidseries of drying cans, a drying device ad'acent said carrying meansincluding 9. su stantially fixed arch, the fabric on said carrying meansbeing drawn under tension over the convex face of said arch, and meansfor applying heat to the fabric while passing over said arch.

7. An apparatus for manufacturing weftless fabric, including incombination, drying 'cans, a seriesof which are rotatable in the samedirection, a tank for a rubber containing liquid, means for guiding thecords to the tanks and assing them therethrough in contiguous -relation,means for carrying treated cords from the tank around said series ofdrying cans, and a drying device adjacent said carrying means includinga series of parallel and contiguous idler rollers arranged to form asubstantially flat arch, the-fabric on said carrying means being drawnover the convex face of said arch under tension.

Signed at New York city, New York county, New York State, this 24 day ofNovember, 1922.

- ALFRED E. JURY.

